Sun, Datamatics partner to offer ‘HP Away’

Stanley Glancy / Mumbai

When HP announced plans to phase out its Alpha/Tru 64 line of servers, Sun Microsystems saw an opportunity. With an estimated 400,000 users on the Alpha platform, chances were high that quite a few of them would migrate to competing platforms like Sun’s Solaris. In order to tap this market the company recently entered into a partnership with Mumbai-based Datamatics to target erstwhile Apha/Tru 64 users and migrate them to its platform. Datamatics will provide customers with Sun tools to facilitate effortless migration.

According to Rahul Kanodia, managing director of Datamatics, the company would also be involved in selling, promoting and implementing Sun’s solutions in various markets. The main thrust for the partnership in the Indian market would be the banking segment, which has been witnessing rapid growth. Other than this, the company also sees significant opportunities in verticals like telecommunications, life sciences, utilities, education, and the government sector.

Sun has put in place a ‘HP Away’ migration programme to tap customers looking at migrating from the Alpha/Tru64 platform. The programme offers a no-risk alternative, wherein Sun and Datamatics would work with customers to deploy an effective migration solution. The programme is being offered to all Alpha/Tru64 customers affected by HP’s decision.

Says Kanodia, “Around 4,00,000 Alpha/Tru64 customers have been left high and dry thanks to HP’s new strategy. We are targeting 10-15 percent of this market by adding new resources to make the migration to Sun’s platform seamless.” The partnership is looking at revenues of $500,000 to $5 million per project.

According to a report published by Sun, the company has already managed to entice over 50 Alpha/Tru64 customers to its platform by promising high reliability, cost-effectiveness, operational optimisation, business agility, and innovation adoption.